Log processing systems have been developed to cut full length logs (stems) such as to discard unwanted shapes and other waste longitudinal increments and at the same time divide the remainder of the log into a number of lengths suitable for further saw milling programmed to achieve a maximum yield. Most of these systems are based on the concept of longitudinally advancing a log on a conveyor having a gap for operation of a cutoff saw, and using a number of incrementally spaced log stops located downstream of the gap to set the lengths to be cut responsive to a programmed extension and retraction of the stops. This requires that the conveyor be stopped for each cut, and hence is inherently a relatively slow procedure. There are some systems which are more sophisticated, but none are known to applicant that will consistently achieve more than about 15 cuts/minute although there is a need for a faster cutting system.